The President today visited Battelle Memorial Institute in
Columbus, Ohio, to view the energy technologies of the future and to
reiterate his call for Congress to pass a sound national energy
policy.

The President called on Congress to pass a comprehensive energy
bill that meets four major objectives: promoting conservation and
efficiency, increasing domestic production, diversifying the Nation s
energy supply, and modernizing the Nation's energy infrastructure.
These goals must be pursued while also upholding our responsibility to
be good stewards of the environment.

Background On The President's Energy Policy

Since his first weeks in office, the passage of a comprehensive and
balanced national energy policy has been a top priority for President
Bush and his Administration. President Bush has reiterated his call
for a comprehensive energy bill that includes the following key
priorities:

Use Technology To Increase Conservation And Energy Efficiency

Promote energy efficiency and conservation through new efficiency
targets for the Federal government, increased funding for state
efficiency programs, and new efficiency standards for consumer
products.

Provide tax incentives to promote hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles,
residential solar energy systems, combined heat and power projects, and
electricity produced from alternative and renewable sources such as
wind, solar, biomass, and landfill gas.

Authorize a wide range of energy technology research and
development programs to develop energy efficient next-generation energy
technologies.

Extend the scope of the Energy Star program, a government/industry
partnership to promote energy efficient products.

Ensure A Clean And Affordable Diversity Of Fuels For Our Future
Electricity Supply

Expand the use of clean coal technology and enable a future for
America s most abundant resource through the President's FutureGen
Initiative and his 10-year Clean Coal Power Initiative which will
reduce emissions and improve the efficiency of existing and new
coal-based power plants.

Ensure a future for nuclear power as a viable and emissions-free
energy source by extending the Price-Anderson Act nuclear liability
laws; modifying the treatment of nuclear decommissioning funds; and by
constructing an environmentally safe permanent repository for spent
nuclear fuel.

Increase Domestic Energy Supplies And Protect The Environment

Allow environmentally responsible oil and gas development in
ANWR. America must reduce its dependence on foreign sources of oil
and natural gas by encouraging safe and clean exploration at home.
Using the most advanced technologies, the environmentally responsible
exploration and development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(ANWR) could provide up to 1 million barrels per day of oil for the
Nation s energy security from less than 2,000 acres.

Increase the use of domestically produced ethanol and biodiesel as
transportation fuel through a flexible national renewable fuel standard
and credit trading system.

Increase production of fossil and renewable energy resources on
Federal and Tribal lands, including measures to expedite permitting for
new energy supply and siting of infrastructure.

Pursue the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to help reduce
our dependence on foreign sources of oil by creating a new generation
of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Pursue the President's commitment to the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a research and development
program for producing energy from nuclear fusion.

Strengthen Energy Security For All Americans

Reduce heating and cooling costs of low-income households by
increasing funding for the Department of Energy s Weatherization
Assistance Program.

Background On Clear Skies

President Bush has again called on Congress to pass Clear Skies
legislation.

Clear Skies Will Cut Pollution. The legislation mandates a
dramatic and steady 70-percent cut in air pollution from power plants,
including the first-ever national cap on mercury emissions:

Cuts sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions by 73 percent, from current
emissions of 11 million tons to a cap of 4.5 million tons in 2010 and
to 3 million tons in 2018.

Cuts emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 67 percent, from current
emissions of 5 million tons to a cap of 2.1 million tons in 2008 and to
1.7 million tons in 2018.

Cuts mercury (Hg) emissions by 69 percent, from current emissions
of 48 tons to a cap of 26 tons in 2010 and to 15 tons in 2018.

Clear Skies Will Improve Air Quality And Public Health. The
legislation will help communities across America meet the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) new health-based standards for ozone and
fine particles.

Combined with new EPA requirements on diesel engine emissions,
Clear Skies will help thousands of Americans with asthma and other
respiratory illnesses and reduce the risks from mercury.

Clear Skies will also improve visibility in some of the most
popular national parks, and Clear Skies will improve the health of our
ecosystems by reducing acid rain and mercury deposition.

Clear Skies Uses A Proven, Market-Based Approach. The legislation
will help communities reach air quality goals while keeping energy
affordable for American consumers and businesses.

Cuts pollution further, faster, cheaper, and with more certainty
than current clean air programs by using an emissions trading program
that creates an economic incentive for early reductions.

Encourages use of the newest technologies to control emissions from
coal-fired power plants.

Helps communities meet health-based air quality standards without
significantly increasing the price of electricity. This allows
manufacturers to expand and grow businesses and create jobs.